A busy week of big news for MMA
In what was dubbed the “Battle of San Jose” Saturday night's Elite XC middleweight title fight did not disappoint. Rising star, Cung Le was the challenger against champion Frank Shamrock. Both fighters hailed from the San Jose area and put on a show for the 16,000-plus at the HP Pavilion. The first round saw Shamrock stay true to his promise to stand with Le. The two traded shots for five straight minutes with Le barely winning the first round. A more aggressive Shamrock came out for round two, but again Le's unorthodox kicks kept distance between the champ and challenger.
Round three was much of the same until a stiff right by Shamrock had Le against the cage. Le fought through Shamrock's barrage of strikes and threw a monster high kick that broke Shamrock's arm. Shamrock could not answer the bell for round four and Le was crowned “King of San Jose,” as well as Elite XC's new middleweight champion.
This fight was one of the best I have seen in recent memory. If you are an MMA fan and haven't seen this fight yet, watch it. This fight and others from Saturday's event are available online. Elite XC has put on some impressive and exciting fights in their past two shows. With fighters like Cung Le, Kimbo Slice and rumours of Tito Ortiz joining the ranks, the future looks bright for this organization.
Fedor officially a free agent
In a press conference on March 28, M1 Global CEO Monte Cox announced an agreement with number one ranked heavyweight, Fedor Emelianenko. Emelianenko will be released from his contractual obligations and once again become a free agent.
“There is so much going on in the world of mixed martial arts right now that we have decided it is in our best interest if our company and Fedor go our separate ways,” said Cox.
This move will make Emelianenko the most sought after fighter in the MMA world. Front-runners for the Russian superstar include the UFC, Mark Cuban's HD Net Fights and new Japanese promotion DREAM.
Emelianenko's release also means the end of M1 Global. Differences between the American and European sides of the organization have caused the two sides to split. Cox has now announced a new promotion, Adrenaline MMA.
Sylvia released by UFC, signs with Adrenaline MMA
Former two-time UFC heavyweight champion, Tim Silvia has been released by the UFC and signed with new promoter's Adrenaline MMA. Silvia said the release was a “mutual agreement” between himself and the UFC and looks forward to fighting with Adrenaline. The current number five ranked heavyweight, still has one fight left on his UFC contract and has expressed his intention to one day return to MMA's biggest stage.
Check next week's issue for my UFC 83 predictions.
